00:00Question today, Seth. How big an issue is linebacker depth with this team, especially considering that EJ Speed is out
00:09for the season?
00:09Yeah, and EJ Speed played 45% or so snaps last year of the defensive snaps. He was a big
00:15deal, especially when Jalen Petrie went down. They started leaning into playing three linebackers more. It's a big deal. I
00:21feel pretty confident for a couple reasons in Marte Mapu and Wade Wood as.
00:27So Wade Wood as a fifth-round pick. Marte Mapu was a guy who in New England, remember, was there
00:33through two different head coaches and I don't think was a great scheme fit, perhaps, for Mike Vrabel. And they
00:41trade him for late-round picks. It wasn't much at all.
00:44Yeah, it was like one of those pick-swap.
00:45Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I think he might be a better fit for the Texans. He can play safe. You
00:50talk about, okay, when Jalen Petrie goes down last year and they just want to put their best football players
00:55on the field,
00:56they put in EJ Speed a lot more. He's not great in pass coverage. Marte Mapu, if he fits the
01:03scheme well, I think might be better in pass coverage. He's played safety before.
01:07So I like how they might use him, kind of in the same way that they used EJ Speed last
01:13year. Wow, guy's got a lot of physical upside. Hasn't really become maybe the best version of himself in Indianapolis.
01:23He came here and they were really happy with him. They gave him an extension. Marte Mapu might be that
01:28good. It's going to be very, very competitive.
01:31And I think, like, remember, Henry Toa Toa is going into his free agency year. As of right now, they
01:36haven't extended him.
01:37I think he's in a perhaps more competitive situation than people might think.
01:43What's their better chance of? Henry Toa Toa getting an extension before the season or Henry Toa Toa's job getting
01:49taken by any of the guys in camp right now?
01:52Oh. Not when I say job. Like, he's going to be on the team, but as a starter.
01:56No, that's a really good question. I don't think that would be something that would happen during camp.
02:00It might be an in-season thing. So there's more of a chance that he gets an extension.
02:03A moderate extension.
02:05Yeah, a moderate extension.
02:06I mean, he's the classic kind of – he's a good football player.
02:09And they're a very good defense with him on the field.
02:11But they've got so much money committed to the defense that Toa Toa and his agent might be looking at
02:17it and saying,
02:17you know, whatever the Texans have offered or whatever discussions they've had, we feel like there's more for you out
02:24there.
02:24And the Texans, I think, really like Toa Toa.
02:27But they've got to be smart at this point about how much they pay guys who aren't the premier players
02:33on the defense.
02:33There's some interesting names.
02:35You know, Woodaz is the one – you mentioned him.
02:37And Woodaz is the one I'm most intrigued by because he – as much as you can flash in minicamp
02:41and OTAs and things like that,
02:43like he was one of those guys you watch out there like, oh, okay, that's somebody right there.
02:48You know, there's 90 guys out there.
02:49So he flashed a little bit.
02:52Like he's impressive physically.
02:53He's tall.
02:54He's long.
02:55He's a former safety also.
02:56It's the same thing.
02:57There were a few snaps when you see Marte Mapu and Wade Woodaz out there together.
03:02They're like, oh, that's an impressive looking – that's an impressive looking linebacker.
03:09So – but he's very raw.
03:11He's a convert to the position himself.
03:14And like there's – it might take a little bit of time.
03:17I think he's going to be a special teams contributor immediately.
03:20But this is what D'Amico Ryans and Billy Davis have done a great job of is developing these linebackers.
03:27So, I think getting the most out of those two guys, I expect at least one of those guys to
03:33kind of rise to the challenge.
03:35Aiden Fisher is an interesting one because he's a seventh-round pick.
03:39All the measurables don't look like he'd be a great NFL linebacker.
03:44You know who's a lot – measurables really didn't look like he could be a good NFL linebacker coming out
03:48of college?
03:49One, Aziz Elshire.
03:50Like he was – Aziz, you look at his spider chart and everything, like, okay, I don't know.
03:56So, I mean, he's a thumper.
03:57Maybe he'll have a chance or something.
03:59He works with D'Amico Ryans, becomes one of the best linebackers in the NFL right now.
04:04Yeah, and two things on that.
04:06One specific to Aiden Fisher.
04:08There was a press conference D'Amico did at some point in OTAs or minicamp where he gushed about Aiden
04:13Fisher.
04:14I don't know if the question was directly about Aiden Fisher or if it was about the linebacker position,
04:18but I'm like, wow, you do not hear head coaches talk about seventh-round picks like that.
04:21No, no, he's exactly the kind of guy that comes from a national championship defense, was the leader of that
04:28defense.
04:29Linebacker especially, with D'Amico, I really trust his ability to see the guys who have really good recognition,
04:35when to pull the trigger, all of those intangible linebacker traits.
04:40I think D'Amico's got a really good eye for that.
04:41And that's the second thing I was going to say.
04:43If D'Amico Ryans is, and I know Nick Casario is the GM and everything, but D'Amico,
04:50if the Texans are drafting linebackers and defensive linemen, I'm going to buy on those guys.
04:55Those are just two positions that historically we've seen excel in a D'Amico Ryans coached defense.
05:02And so I'm really, I mean, granted, he's a second-round pick, not a seventh-round pick,
05:06but Caden McDonald I'm very bullish on as a defensive lineman they drafted.
05:10And similarly, the two linebackers they drafted, Woodaz and Aiden Fisher,
05:14whatever the bar is, whatever the expectations are for a fourth-round pick and a seventh-round pick,
05:19coming into training camp, I think they're both going to exceed those.
05:22Yeah, yeah, and then it's just a matter of, all right, how quickly does it happen?
05:25And so I feel, I don't feel awesome about just the proven ability of those guys,
05:31but I think between just those three guys that are new to the team,
05:34Wade Woodaz, Aiden Fisher, and then Marte Mapu,
05:37I'd have a hard time believing that at least one of those guys doesn't rise to the occasion.
05:41I agree, I agree.
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